I stay in the "better amp", (i.e., more money), camp. What good is a great bass tone, if you can't amplify it accurately?

If you want an an opinion from a technical expert instead of an old bassist, "It's not an exaggeration to say that a good amp can make a lousy guitar better, while a bad amp will make the best guitar sound lousy." If you'd like to know more, try www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/complete.html That's where the quote comes from. Technically, it refers to guitars, but it's still strings, pickups, resistors, and speakers, etc.

I'd go all out an a bass , take your time and look around and find yourself a good bass , ask alot of questions and try any bass until you get kicked out of the shop..... no amp no matter how good can make a bad bass sound better. This and the fact that amps really aren't cheap unless you're getting a practice amp so alot of money will obviously go toward this , go all out on a good bass and save up for an amp later

Well, so far I've been going with basses, but as soon as I get to college and earn myself some money, I'm gonna run off & look for a nice amp. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be able to lug all my basses with me to college, so I'll probably have to end up only bringing one of 'em.
Well, I guess I could come back to Hong Kong over winter or summer or something & pick up my other bass(es).
So...ummm...yeah. I'd say go for the amp, but like everyone else says, a NICE amp'll cost more $eriou$ dollar$, so either get a new bass now, & start from scratch for a better amp, or get nothing now, & keep saving up for that amp.

Heres what if i would've done if i knew back then what i know now & my preferences:

Ampeg BA112 $350 [12in.spkr, 50watts]
Squier Jazz Bass $230
Total + S&H $580.
But i went like this
Fender Jazz
Fender BXR 15 [8in. spkr, 15watts]
so i'd go along with the rest & say spend some more on the amp. That 12 would be ncie right about now. [saving up for the BA115-about a year to go ] thats all

You're going to find $600.00 isn't enough to make you happy...I started off with just the bass and no amp...I was using a mixing board and headphones, initially. That just didn't cut it...I needed something to play my bass through. It cost me about $500USD for the bass (with the case, strap, picks, cable, etc...) and $500USD for the amp (SWR W-12 Combo - not that bad...would like it to be louder though.) My only suggestions would be to try and borrow some money, wait a little while longer, or try and find some good quality used items that will fit your budget. You're first rig will determine if you love or hate playing, so get something decent.

Originally posted by metro_trash ..... no amp no matter how good can make a bad bass sound better.

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Not true. A good preamp can make a cheap bass sound great. The SansAmp Bass Driver DI acting as a preamp made my Peavey Milestone II sound great!

As far as amp vs. bass, that depends on your situation. Whether you'll be playing with other people or are gonna be jammin alone.

I agree with Rickbass...not matter how great your bass is, if you can't hear it when you play with others it doesn't matter. Now if you don't play with others yet, get the practice amp now and the nice bass. Or if you plan on jammin with friends, get a nice (loud) amp and the inexpensive bass.

In my case, I upgraded my amp because I needed more volume, then I upgraded the bass later. By the way, if you buy a used amp you generally get more for your money.

I gotta agree with the second hand thing, too. Last summer when I went to visit family, I decided to go get an amp, since I brought my bass with me. p) The catch was, though, that I had to use my own money. I had like...a little over US$100 saved up, so I went to the local store & picked up a second hand Peavey something-or-other. That thing cost the same amount as my amp here in Hong Kong, only it was a lot bigger & nicer.